Arsene Wenger’s side found themselves on the back foot for much of Sunday’s north London derby, with Spurs putting in a highly accomplished performance at the Emirates and leading through Harry Kane’s opening goal.

The Gunners fought back though and managed to get the equaliser, with substitute Kieran Gibbs managing to squeeze an effort past Hugo Lloris in the visitor’s goal.

And Mertesacker says their comeback shows that they have the requisite mental toughness as a team.

“How we came back shows that we have got a good mentality and level of character in the squad,” he told arsenal.com.

“That’s important for the Christmas period coming up. It’s really important that, even if we suffer sometimes, we can come back. We showed mental strength.”

The result was a disappointing one for the Gunners, give how results earlier in the day had gone very much in their favour.

With Manchester City drawing at Aston Villa, a win over Spurs could have seen Arsenal go two points clear at the top of the table, something that would have been a big boost at this stage of the season.

Instead, the two sides remain locked together at the summit and Mertesacker says it is an interesting position to be in, saying they had vowed to be better than last season at the beginning of this campaign.

Sean Lunt

Sean Lunt is a Journalism and Spanish graduate with a passion for football. As an avid Everton fan he has survived the Walter Smith era, enjoyed the resurgence under David Moyes and is now wholly embracing the Spanish revolution with Roberto Martinez. Away from Everton he follows the rest of the football league and has a particular interest in La Liga.